Floating- sectional dry-dock



v J. SEELY. SBGTIONAL FLOATING DRY DOGK.

Patented Feb. 24, 1857.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIEE.

JOHN SEELY, OF BUFFALO, NEYV YORK.

FLOATING SECTIONAL DRY-DOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 16,696, dated February 2-4, 1857.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN SEELY, of the city of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements Relating to Floating Sectional DryDocks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists 1st in the combination of conducting pipes with tubular hinges and sectional dock substantially as hereinafter set forth; 2nd, in the combination and use of jointed adjustable braces for the purpose of holding the docks level, as they rise in the water.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

The tubular hinges may be cast of iron or brass or other metal. For the purpose of making my specification as definite as possible, I will describe my tubular hinge in two parts to wit, the butt, represented at a, a, and the joint represented b, Figure II. The butt has a flange g, Fig. I, through which it is bolted to the plank or timbers of the wheel pit, WV. Its duplicate (a, (6,) Fig. II, is also fastened to the floating dock (D,) in the same manner. The joint (2),) turns in the butt (a, (1,) and. is of suflicient dimensions to admit a bore of sixteen inches in diameter. The butt is of suflicient dimensions to receive the joint and allow it to turn freely therein and of sufficient capacity to receive and discharge the water from the joint.

At the letter 0 is represented a slip joint water pipe, which may be made fast to the pipe, (Z, and left free to turn on the pipe, 6. This slip joint should be well fitted on the pipe e, so as not to leak water. This arrangement will allow the water to flow from the dock, D, into the butt, a, a, thence into the joint, I), and pipe cZ,e, and joint I), and but-t a, a, and wheel pit W. This description is deemed sufiicient for each hinge joint in the series. Each of the sectional docks is now sup-posed to be sunk to the bottom of the water, and a. vessel takes its place over the docks in a proper position to be raised. The hinged guide posts f, f, f, j", are for the purpose of guiding the vessel to its right position over the docks. These posts are provided With hinges, h, Fig. I, so

that they will yield in case the vessel should strike one of them in entering, and thus prevent injury, and will rise to the surface of the water as soon as relieved from contact with the vessel. Steam or horse power may be applied to the pinion shaft, L, and dip wheel I, which is twenty-six feet, (more or less) in diameter, will raise and discharge four hundred and seventy barrels of water per minute. The slide gates, H, H, Fig. I, are for the purpose of regulating the flow of water. For instance, it may be necessary to raise one section faster than another, or cause it to lift hard-er than another, in order to meet the condition of the vessel. If the vessel has been strained, or sprung, or bent,by regulating the flow of water from the sections, by means of the slide gates, the section or dock D bearing on the stern, or bow or center may be caused to lift heavy, or light, as the exigencies of the vessel shall require.

As the water is discharged, the dock would be liable to sway to and fro, and rise un level if some means were not provided to prevent it. For this purpose I have made the parallel jointed braces k, In, Figs. I and II. These braces must turn, upon the same centers-or in other words, they must be of the same length from joint to joint, as are the tubular hinges from b to Z) (center to center). As the dock rises, these braces will operate to hold it in position and keep it level. In case the dock should sway in the least as it rises, the slip joint 0 will turn, and thus prevent any undue strain, or twist upon the pipe and the whole arrangement becomes adjustable and permanent. If a hose pipe should be used instead of the tubular hinges and adjustable pipe (Z, e, c, it would be liable to bend and become indented, and prevent the free flow of the water. The pipe (Z, c, is sixteen inches in diameter on the inside, and the metal half, or three quarters of an inch in thickness (more or less). It is twenty feet from hinge to hinge or from Z), to b, and twenty feet from joint t, to joint t, in the braces 70.

The docks are made in a strong and substantial manner of timber and plank, and are twenty feet Wide, thirty six feet long and four feet deep. All of these dimensions may be varied as circumstances require. The middle docks, or those which lift on the center of the vessel should be made longer than those which lift on the bow and stern,

so as to bring the greatest lifting power to ward the center. The keel blocks are represented at n, n, and the bilge blocks at m, m. At 1", 1", are represented slide gates for the purpose of filling the docks with water, in order to sink them, preparatory to receiving a vessel. The bilge blocks are movable on their ways, and thus adaptable to any size vessel.

At g, g, are represented floating air tubes. These may be made of india rubber or other elastic material, and connected with the docks-with a sufficient float to keep the mouth of the pipe above the water. They are for the purpose of admitting air into the docks, in order that the water may flow freely in, or out of the docks as may be required. The construction of the dip wheel, and the form of the buckets, and the bucketvalves, I do not deem it necessary to de scribe herein as these I intend to describe and claim in a separate specification.

The Wheel pit is supposed to be constructed on the main land near the water. It may however be made a floating pit, and with the docks be moved from place to place and sunk in the water by weights, taking care that the water does not flow in over the top, and thus be used at different places in the creek or harbor as circumstances may re qulre.

I Wish also to say that the wheel pit may be extended indefinitely in the form of a submerged flume and any number of sectional docks connected therewith so that the same dip wheel may be used to discharge any number of sectional docks. The Wheel pit (or reservoir for receiving the water as it is discharged from the docks) may be made of sufficient capacity to hold all the water in the docks so that the docks may be immediately discharged, without waiting the action of the dip wheel, or before it is put into operation.

I wish also to specify that I do not intend to be limited to the particular dimensions herein given of the several parts of my improvements, as these dimensions and proportions may bevaried as circumstances may demand.

I do not intend to be limited to the use as a dip wheel, for discharging the water from the docks, when circumstances shall render it more favorable to use pumps for the same purpose.

I do not claim the several parts herein described (except 'the tubular hinges) when used independent of the several combinations herein claimed.

I claim 1. The combination of the conducting pipe 0, 0, (Z, with the tubular hinges a, (a, 7), and sectional dock D, substantially as herein set forth.

2. I claim the combination of the parallel braces is, 70 (turning upon joints Z, Z), with the floating docks I), D, and the wheel pit IV, for the purposes herein set forth.

JOHN SEELY. lVitnesses E. B. FoImUsH, C. P. D\VYER. 

